STREAMCRAFT 



Oft have I seen a skillful angler try 

 The various colors of the treacherous fly; 

 When he with fruitless pain hath skim'd the brook, 

 And the coy fish rejects the skipping hook. 

 He shakes the bow that on the margin grows, 

 Which o'er the stream a weaving forest throws; 

 When if an insect fall (his certain guide) 

 He gently takes him from the whirling tide; 

 Examines well his form with curious eyes, 

 His gaudy vest, his wings, his horns, his size. 

 Then round the hook the chosen fur he winds, 

 And on the back a speckled feather binds; 

 So just the colors shine through every part, 

 That nature seems to live again in art. 



It will be seen after looking over the list 

 below that Dr. Gove is about right in stating 

 that these eighteen shades are most characteristic 

 of trout insect food, and that you will note that 

 most of them are subdued and not decided 

 colors : dark red, ginger-dun, claret, yellow, gray, 

 orange, black, olive, purple, red-brown, amber- 

 red, green-brown, lead color, yellow-dun, mul- 

 berry, white, yellow-green, and blue. You also 

 may note that the above shades may be well 

 represented in comparatively but few sterling fly 

 patterns, as in Black Gnat, Brown and Gray 

 Hackles, Beaverkill, Cahill, Coachman, Cow- 

 dung, the duns including Whirling Dun and 

 Hare's Ear, Queen and King of the Water, the 

 drakes including March Brown, Bluebottle, 

 Montreal, Red Spinner. 



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